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AOM Press Releases

HR Brew: Small talk is a big deal. Here’s how to help your employees have better conversations.

12 Jun 2023
As much as some employees loathe small talk, research suggests it’s beneficial, as it can help them feel reenergized.

Originally found at HR Brew.

Count small talk among one of the many things we forgot how to do during the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2023, as many companies were calling workers back into the office, Google searches for “what to talk about at work” grew.

The problem isn’t unique to the US. In 2022 Georgie Nightingall, founder of London-based firm Trigger Conversations, told the Guardian that demand for her conversational training courses had quadrupled within a year.

“There is concern, partly due to the pandemic, that people are just losing these skills,” she told the paper.

...The study, which was published by the Academy of Management Journal in 2021, found that on days when employees had more small talk, “they felt more energized,” (author) Methot told HR Brew. “In the afternoon, they felt more friendly, feeling more connected to their coworkers.” They were also better able to recover from stress at the end of the workday, she said...

Continue reading the original article at HR Brew.

Read the original research in Academy of Management Journal.

Read the Academy of Management Insights summary.

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